Celestia's New World

August 22

Today, like any other monday, I woke to the sound of my phone's alarm. It's been the same thing since I got it two years ago. Right now, it was just the worst sound in the world. I was up too late.

My phone had a message on it. My boss said it was fine if I stayed home, so I basically woke up for nothing. I heard the sound of rain on the roof.

I walked out to the living room with a yawn. Oh yeah... Her... She was sleeping soundly on the couch, a thin, warm blanket covering her. This wasn't normal. Not at all.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

I wanted to talk to her again, but I didn't want to wake her just yet. I can wait.

With nothing else to do, I took a quick shower and put on some fresh clothes. With consideration to my guest, I brought my clothes into the bathroom before I showered.

She was still asleep when I returned. Guess I'll just get something to eat.

I went into the kitchen and made myself a bowl of cereal. The soft pitter-patter of rain against the house and the clanking of my metal spoon against the glass bowl were all I could hear. I poured another bowl and finished it off before drinking the milk and rinsing it out in the sink.

I was just waiting for her to wake up. Waiting... waiting... waiting... This is creepy. I grabbed a chair and opened my laptop. If I looked like I wasn't watching her sleep, it wouldn't be as creepy, right?

She stirred some time later. She rubbed her eyes and stared at her hands, probably still questioning whether this was real. She looked to me.

"Good morning." I said to her.

"Good morning." She sat up, her blanket falling into her lap. Her hair had lost some of yesterday's brilliance. She gave off a yawn and looked at me with tired eyes. "I'm still a human."

An astute observation. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, actually. Your couch was surprisingly comfortable."

"I know, right? So... let's talk." I set my laptop down and looked at her. This time, I was waiting for her to start.

She rubbed her eyes again and stretched her body out. "Alright." She yawned. "You wouldn't have happened to think of anything for me, would you?"

"Not really."

"Mmm... Nothing?"

"I was tired."

"Can you think of anything, now?"

"I guess. Uh... I mean, you were pretty set on looking for that mirror, yesterday. Even if we looked, it was just too late, you know?"

"I understand."

"But aside from that, I got nothing. If it's not where you showed up from, there's no way you're finding it."

"Why do you say that?

"It's a... big town for that. It could be anywhere."

She looked down, then back to me. "Do you think that there's a way for me to go back to Equestria?"

I stared at her for a short while before answering, "No."

"Then what should I do?"

"I dunno. Not much you really can do."

"Do I just stay with you?"

"If you want. You're still free to leave."

"That's not what I meant. I'm grateful for this, truly. I'm just worried.

"Yeah, I get it."

"I don't want to impose on you, Phil."

"It's no problem to me. Just don't break anything."

She smiled. "Thank you. I'm grateful that you've brought me here."

"Well, I couldn't just leave a crying lady alone in the middle of the night like that."

"I wasn't crying."

"You were a little."

"I hurt my knees." she replied.

"Fair enough." I looked to her legs and noticed small bloodstains on her pants. "Do you wanna... clean those up, or... put a... bandage on them? I can get you..."

"Hmm?" She looked down to her knees, then she reached down and began pulling up her pant legs. Her pants were loose around her legs, so they easily slid past her knees. There was a lot of dried blood on them. She licked her thumb and wiped some of it away. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Sure?"

She nodded, smiling at me. "Thank you for worrying about me, though." She covered herself back up.

"You know Celestia... you scare me a bit."

"Hmm? Why? How could I scare you? You're a lot bigger than I am."

"'Cause you're not supposed to be here. I don't wanna be responsible for ya, you know? What if you get hurt?"

She gave me a sympathetic smile. "I know. I'm sorry. I don't mean to cause you trouble."

"I know, it's just weird for me. I don't usually have guests, as you can imagine. Especially ones as important as you."

"I am no more important a guest than a friend."

Yeah, that's gonna convince me. "Well... at least we're friends, then."

She smiled. "But... You're not alone when you say you're scared. I can't use magic here. I can't contact my sister. If we aren't able to find the crystal mirror, I may not even be able to go back home at all. It makes me feel so... helpless."

"You'll go back soon, Princess. You'll see." I smiled at her.

She chuckled. "You may have had an easier time convincing me if you had not been trying to convince me that the crystal mirror doesn't exist just last night."

"Sorry. Hey, I know what'll cheer you up! Ice cream!"

"Ice cream?" She smiled and started to laugh. "Ice cream... That sounds wonderful."

"Great! Wait here."

I went back out to the kitchen, pulling out some bowls and spoons. I retrieved a half-eaten tub of cookie dough ice cream from the freezer in the bottom of the fridge.

I tried to scoop some out, but only ended up bending the spoon. I showed the spoon to Celestia. She giggled. I liked that sound. I bent it back into shape before filling two bowls for us.

I returned to her, handing her one. She thanked me for it and grabbed a spoon. She slid over on the couch, pulling the blanket with her, then smiled at me, gesturing to the empty spot with a hand. I sat down next to her, making sure I was closer to the edge than I was to her. I still wasn't sure whether it was alright if I was close to her, yet.

I found myself glancing at her every so often. I'm sure she noticed my looks. She was cute from this angle...

After a while of the two of us sitting in silence, I retrieved my laptop. She stared at the screen as I opened it again.

"This is a computer." I told her, "Specifically a laptop. For use on the top of your lap." I smirked.

"Computer? I believe my student mentioned them before..."

"Hmm... Let me see... How can I explain it? It's a personal data storing and accessing device. That's not a very good explanation..." I opened up the 'computer' article on Wikipedia and gave it to her. "Careful, it's kind of expensive."

She silently read what the screen said, then looked at the keyboard. She tapped the down arrow and more text appeared. Lucky guess.

"This is a lot to take in. You humans are amazing." She intently read the article. "I don't even know some of these words."

"There's a lot more information than that on just about everything. See that bar up there?" I pointed to the URL bar. "That tells you what website you're on. Uh... It tells you what database you have accessed. Right now, you're on Wikipedia, which is... what was it... It's pretty much the most complete public knowledge database. The world's best free encyclopedia."

"I hope you're not expecting me to know what you're talking about."

"Right..." I chuckled, slightly embarrassed.

She continued her reading.

Explaining computers and Wikipedia to someone who didn't know what they were... She wasn't stupid, she just simply didn't know about them.

What is the ruler of Equestria doing on earth anyways? She doesn't really seem to mind being here, but she was all sad earlier. Why's this pretty lady in my house? Did I die or something? This has to be some kind of divine punishment.

As she studied the article, I studied her. Normal. Almost normal. In terms of looks, not normal at all. Her beauty was beyond any normal woman. She was an amazon of a woman with a prominent figure and well endowed features. Hehe... Boobies...

She seemed content right now, but I was sure some distress was circling around in the back of her mind.

"You're staring at me." she said, glancing over to me. It didn't even sound like she cared that I was staring.

"Sorry." I looked away.

She seemed happy enough. Her smile alone brightened my mood.

"Why am I here?" she suddenly asked, "I don't mean this world, but here, in your house. I don't mean any offense by this, but you don't seem to be all that special. Why were you the one to find me?"

"I dunno. Maybe you got lucky. Or unlucky. Maybe I got lucky. Could be there's no reason."

"I'm beginning to think the same thing. But... Why here? And why now?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. What was the last thing you remember?"

"It was just another normal day. I bid my sister goodnight and I had fallen asleep. There was nothing out of the ordinary."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. There hasn't even been any news with my student. You know, she gets into a surprising amount of trouble for a mare of her age." She chuckled.

"Do you think something she did had anything to do with it?"

"I couldn't say. If anyone would have something to do with this, I would suspect Discord, but I don't think even he has the power to do something like this."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I couldn't say either."

"Will I live here with you until I can return?"

"That's up to you, really."

"What if I'm stuck in this world forever?"

I shrugged. "Welcome to the family."

"Welcome to... You can't adopt me, you don't even know me!"

"It'd probably be easier just to marry you, honestly."

"You're not marrying me!"

I started to laugh. She smiled, then joined me.

Soon enough, she gave the laptop back to me and stood up. She stretched herself out. "Do you have anything for me to eat? Other than ice cream."

"Yeah, there's some stuff. The cupboard by the fridge has food in it. Just pick something that looks good, I guess."

She started walking towards the kitchen, then paused. "Do humans... eat meat?"

"Yeah."

"Ponies don't eat meat. We're very close to our animals. They're... our friends. They're the same as us. Our diet is vegetarian."

"And copious amounts of sweets." I added.

She chuckled. "I'd rather avoid eating any sort of meat, if I could."

"Oh yeah, no problem. I still got plenty of stuff that you'll like. Probably."

"Thank you."

She walked through the doorway. I picked up our two now-empty bowls and followed her. I rinsed them out as she opened the fridge.

I didn't typically buy extravagant or expensive food and the fridge was usually just filled with essentials. There was an old pizza in there, though. Old pizza sounds kinda good, actually. I joined her.

"This is almost depressing." she said to me as I grabbed a piece from the box.

"Really?"

"Is this all you have?"

"I eat when I'm bored and if I have a lot of food in here, I'll just eat it all at once and I'll get fat and lazy."

She chuckled. "You and I are the same in that regard. I suppose I expected more. The royal kitchen is filled to the brim with the best of the best, but here, I wouldn't be surprised to see mold."

"Hey, that's rude." I took a bite of my cold pizza. "I don't let my food get moldy."

"Your pizza is moldy."

I looked at it with my jaw hanging, disgusted that I hadn't noticed. She let out a small laugh.

"You've swindled me."

"Sorry." she said, a pleasant smile on her face.

"The meat's in there." I pointed to the drawer. "So avoid that. And veggies are in the one next to it. I don't think I have any fruit right now." I got myself a glass of apple juice while she reached into the pizza box.

She inspected it, then took a bite. "Better than I thought it would be."

"It's better fresh."

"One would think." She closed the door.

The two of us just stood there, eating our cold pizza together. It was an excellent bonding exercise.

"So the rest..." She swallowed the piece in her mouth. "Sorry. So the rest of your food is in here?" She pointed to the cupboard next to the fridge.

"Yep. And, uh... cereal in there." I pointed to the cupboard underneath and to the right of the sink. "And... ramen and mac and cheese and... Well, just bigger boxes."

"What's in this one?" She pointed to the one above the microwave.

"You can look, you don't need my permission to open the cupboards in the kitchen."

She smiled like a kid in a candy shop. Almost immediately, she started to go through the cupboards, learning where stuff was if she needed it.

"Having... fun?"

"Uh..." She closed the cupboard she had opened. "Sorry. I got excited."

"Over cups and forks?"

She gave off a small, embarrassed laugh. "It's not every day I see the inside of someone's house. I'm usually never in the kitchen, especially when I'm away from the castle. But this is... Well, it's a little disappointing."

"Hey."

"Sorry." She gave me a small smile. "I just expected more. Do you enjoy living like this?"

"Do I enjoy it? What kind of a question is that? Course I enjoy it." I rinsed out my empty cup and put it upside-down in the sink. "Anyways, if you want more food, I can head to the store for ya. It'd be nice if you had some things to snack on while you're here, eh?"

She nodded, staring at me as she took another bite of her pizza.

"You seem to be taking this rather well."

She blinked. "Well... I don't see a point in worrying."

"Mmm... Yeah, I guess. Are you worried?"

"Oh, of course I am! But if I showed it, it would worry you. I don't want to worry you after you've been so nice to me."

"You're very... direct about that."

She just smiled at me.

"Alright, if you say so." I... guess she has her reasons for telling me.

"Besides, it's not all bad. I get to experience a whole new world for myself. My student could never have described this well enough."

"She couldn't have described middle class living well enough?"

She lifted the crust of the pizza she had eaten and looked to it. "Could you describe the taste of cold, day-old pizza?" She took another bite.

"I... doubt it. You sure you wanna be eating pizza leftovers for breakfast? Normal people eat cereal or toast or something."

She chuckled. She finished off her piece and retrieved another from the box.

"You know, not even I eat pizza for breakfast, weirdo."

"Wh... You just had a piece!"

"That was lunch."

She curiously raised an eyebrow. "How long were you awake before I was?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Like an hour. Two, maybe."

"And you were just... staring at me as I slept?"

"A little bit."

She blinked. "A little bit?"

"Just a little. I was on my laptop."

"Why were you... staring at me?"

"You're cute when you're sleeping."

She stifled a laugh. "I don't know whether to feel flattered or uncomfortable."

"I'd accept both as an answer."

She gave me a small smile in response.

"Are you sure you're alright with living here, Princess? I mean, it ain't exactly a castle."

"That's what you're worried about? It's not a problem to me."

"Well..." I shrugged. "If you say so."

"It's not like I've always lived in a castle, you know. In fact, before my sister and I discovered the Elements of Harmony, we were almost peasants."

"That so?"

"Well, it was primarily due to Discord's reign, but yes."

I nodded. "Is your sister gonna be fine without you?"

"She is a fine leader in her own right, but without me by her side, there's no way of telling how things will fare." She sighed. "It's sudden, but I know she's capable. Equestria is capable."

I smiled at her. "That's the spirit."

She gave me a small smile. She turned and opened the fridge, then got another piece of pizza from the box.

She took a bite before turning towards the doorway. As she ate, she began wandering through my house. I followed her around. There wasn't a lot she could look for. It was a one bedroom, one bathroom home with a basement. Even so, she explored the house that she had slept in. It seemed like she was habitually attempting to use magic to grab things and open doors, only to be disappointed when she failed.

I saw that she was bracing herself against the walls as she walked. Seemed that she wasn't used to her new body, yet.

It wasn't long before she reached my room. She looked inside the open door, then to me. I nodded at her, giving her permission to go in. A bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. Notably boring. I walked in after her, noticing a brief look of disappointment on her face.

She looked at my closet door, then to me.

"Nah, nothing in there that you'd be interested in. Besides, something could fall on you if you open it."

She shrugged, then continued to look around.

She looked at another door in the front room, but I think the excitement had already ran out. It was just my basement. I had a desktop computer and a washing machine and dryer down there. And another couch.

"You seem disappointed." I said to her.

She sighed. "I know it's not my place to say this, but your house is boring."

I shrugged. "It's practical."

"Why is this door so thick? The other doors are rather thin. It doesn't even match the style of your home."

"Extra protection. My valuables are down there. You can check it out, if you want."

"Mmm... Perhaps later. I don't mean to be rude, but I would like to try to find the crystal mirror, today."

I nodded. "Alright. The earlier we start looking, the better."

"That's right. I feel I've wasted enough of my time already." She paused. "I don't mean any offense."

"No prob. So... do you have any way of locating it, or..."

She shook her head. "No, no I don't. And... it worries me. What if we can't find it?"

"I dunno."

She frowned at me.

"I mean, like I said, you can stay here all you want. But if you don't have any way of finding it, then... What, should we just drive around town for a while?"

She nodded. "I want to think that I would be able to sense it if I'm near. I could in Equestria, over a rather impressive distance. If there's a chance that we could find it..."

"I get it, I get it. I'll help you."

"Thank you."

I smiled. "Come on, let's find that mirror. Where should we go first, do you think?"

"Hmm... My student first arrived near a high school, so perhaps we could start with that."

"Sounds good. Are you... ready to go, now?"

She nodded.

"Alright, I'll be just a second."

I moved to my room to retrieve my keys and phone. With these, I was ready to go.

I helped Celestia to the car, locking the door behind us out of habit. I paid attention to the Princess as she walked. If she needed help, I was ready. Fortunately, the short trip from the house to the car proved to be of little issue to her, though the swinging arms did worry me a bit.

Celestia did not like my car. She was hesitant to even touch it. "Are you... absolutely sure that this is safe?" she asked me.

"I drove fine last night, didn't I?"

"I don't know. Yes?"

"Well, you don't exactly have much of a choice for transportation."

"I suppose." She got in, same as yesterday.

I opened my door, then paused as I saw the white bag sitting on the backseat. I forgot last night's purchase in here. Oh well. I hid it under my seat.

The engine noises fascinated Celestia. As I drove, she looked all around, almost like a kid, taking in all the details around her.

"Alright, the school I'm taking you too isn't too far away." I told her.

"Is it one you attended?"

"Yep. Then we got another high school across town from it, so we can head there, next."

"It couldn't hurt."

I gestured to a large building as I pulled into the parking lot across the street, as if it wasn't obvious already. The lot was fairly empty. Has school started? It is August... I guess not.

"That's the school?" she asked, "I saw it on the way to your home, but I couldn't have imagined..."

"Getting out?"

She looked to me, then nodded. She undid her buckle and opened her door. I turned off the car and joined her. I leaned against the car as she looked at the building.

"Looks like school just started." I said to her.

"So, how big is this building?" she asked me, looking to the top.

"It's four floors, counting the basement. Over there's the gym." I pointed to the end of the building. "We have two swimming pools, an outdoor jogging track, and a football field."

"How many students attend this school?"

"Around 1500, I think."

"1500 students..."

"To our left, that big, grassy field over there, that's also part of the school. The whole thing takes up about four city blocks."

"Impressive..."

"You can get closer, if you want."

"I... suppose."

I followed her as she walked towards the school.

"So how long did you attend this school?"

"Four years. Favorite had to be year three, when I was in eleventh grade. I had AP chem, and the most I remember out of it was our teacher telling us a scary story during Halloween."

"Is that so? Did you even pass?"

"Yeah. It was pretty hard, but I guess it just wasn't for me. But that was a long time ago. Nowadays, high school is the last thing on my mind."

She chuckled.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing..."

We stopped at the street between the building and the lot, looking up at it.

"It's weird being this close to the school." I said, "I mean, it's not exactly out of my way, but still."

"It's a strange nostalgic feeling, isn't it..."

"Yeah, something like that. Think the mirror's here?"

"I don't know. I don't feel anything."

"So, this isn't the place?"

"Perhaps not. Let's try the other high school."

"Alright."

The next school was on the other side of town, near the hospital. At least, that's how I remembered it. I've never actually been there, myself.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I asked her, "Any luck?"

She sighed. "No..."

"Aw..."

"Perhaps it's near where you first found me. Near... I believe it was called... Walmart."

"Good idea."

She sighed as she looked out the window. Her voice sounded almost sad. I think she was losing faith in this. I didn't like seeing her like this.

I took a specific route to get back to Wal-Mart to show her where the hospital was. It never hurts to know where the hospital is. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of town from my house. What if I got a booboo?

I pulled into the parking lot and found a place for us to park. She looked to the building and to the people moving about the lot.

Celestia got out. I did as well. She stood with a hand on the car, looking around the area. She took a few steps forward, walking around to the front of the car.

"Anything?" I asked, joining her.

"No, nothing..."

"That's a shame..."

Hmm... Now that I think about it, she could be with me for a while. If she spends more than a few days here, she'll need a change of clothes.

I asked her about it, and her reply surprised me.

"Couldn't I wear your clothing?" she asked, "They may be a little big, but it would mean that you wouldn't have to spend any more on me than you need to."

"What? That's kinda weird."

"Is there... something wrong with that? Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know. Is... Is that a human thing?" She seemed worried that she may have offended me.

"No, it's not... I just didn't expect you to be so..." I didn't really have a word for it right now.

"I don't want to be more of a burden than I already am. As long as your clothing has been cleaned, it should be fine for me to wear it."

"Really? What if they don't fit?"

"You're much bigger than I am. Why would they not fit?"

"Ah... You..." Bigger chest, wider hips. "You'd still need underwear, anyways."

"Don't you have underwear that I could wear?"

"Ok, now that is weird."

She chuckled. "I suppose you're right."

"Besides, you'd still need bras."

"What's a bra?"

I paused for a moment. Right... "Ah... Well... Your bra is what holds your... uh... Your bra holds your boobs."

"Boobs?"

I blinked. I didn't think this one through. "O-On your chest. Your... uh... Your chest, your..."

She looked down to her chest. "You mean these?" she asked, poking the side of her breast, "They're heavy..."

"Celestia."

"So... a bra holds my... boobs. So, this is a bra?" She reached underneath the collar of her shirt and tugged on her bra strap, making her chest jiggle.

"Yes, that's a bra. Please don't do that in public." I said to her. I felt really awkward right now.

"Oh..."

"Your bra supports your boobies."

She let out a small laugh. "Boobies... What a funny word. Mine seem bigger than many of the women here. Is that normal?"

"I..."

"What's with that look? Is it not normal?"

"I feel like you're messing with me."

"I'm not!"

I gave her a small smile, then sighed. "Yes, it's normal. But yours are still... pretty big..."

"W-Well, is that normal?" she asked me.

"Yes, it's normal."

"Well, it doesn't feel normal. It feels like they're weighing me down."

"You're just gonna have to live with that."

"I suppose."

"Either way, you'd probably like pants that actually fit you. And shirts. And... I guess you could use a robe, too."

"That does sound nice. Thank you. Is this... really necessary, though?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Think of it this way, you'll get to experience human clothing first hand."

"When you put it like that, it seems more exciting."

"There you go. Ready to head in?"

She looked back to the building. "I'm ready."

"You're not gonna fall over again, are you?"

"I... certainly hope not. You'll catch me if I do, right?"

"I'll try."

As we walked towards the building, Celestia took slow, careful strides. Like before, I was ready to catch her if she fell. She looked up at the building in awe as we walked in.

She was almost clung to me while we walked through the store, as if she were scared. Her hand held the cart almost the entire time. She didn't seem confident enough to walk without holding onto something. I'd certainly have trouble walking if I suddenly went from a life of four legs to two...

This wasn't any different from normal shopping, though I did feel pretty excited with Celestia in tow. She made a normal shopping trip into something much different. She studied the foods as we walked isle to isle and studied the people we passed. With all these new things to see, a smile was on her face the entire time.

After I had picked out the food, it was time to pick out clothes for her. In hindsight, clothing should've been first. I brought her to the clothing section.

"Since we don't know how long you'll be staying with me, I guess you should pick out a few sets."

"Phil, I don't need all this. It's alright."

"Well... just think of it as a gift, then. I mean, we're not exactly at the most luxurious place, here. You're hardly gonna break the bank."

"A gift? If you're sure..."

Celestia looked at the clothing available to her. After a while, she picked out one shirt because she liked the design and a few cheap pairs of pants, along with a skirt after seeing that one of the mannequins was wearing one. She was like a kid in a candy shop.

"Just one shirt? Are you really gonna wear my clothes, Celestia?"

"Well, yes. There's no need to get any more."

I sighed. "Fine. Think those will fit?"

"I have no idea!" she excitedly said, a smile on her face.

"Alright, well there's a changing room over there. You can try on what you got there."

"Oh, how useful."

"And make sure you're comfortable in them."

"I know how to wear clothing, Phil."

I actually had no idea where the changing room was. Thankfully, there were signs posted to lead us to it.

There was a lady who worked here sitting just outside the changing station, watching for people who might want to snatch clothes. She smiled at us. We smiled back. Celestia took the clothes she picked out into the room. After a while, she came back, new clothes in her arms.

"Pick the right size?" I asked.

She shook her head. "The pants were all too tight. I'll need to try a different size. I noticed something about the clothes I'm wearing, though. They don't have any size tags. The new clothes do, but these do not."

"Really? Weird."

She nodded. "I'll be back with new pants, wait here."

"You can leave the old ones here with me." said the lady at the counter.

"Oh, thank you."

"You gonna be ok on your own?" I asked as she returned them.

"I'll be fine. I've been walking for a while, now."

I waited near the counter as she left, like she said. I could see her head above the rows of clothing as she picked out some new pants. She was still a bit shaky as she walked, but she had gotten better. She returned after a short while, this time with pants that fit her.

She placed the clothes into the cart. Next was underwear... She just smiled at me. She knew... I've never bought lady's underwear before. Celestia has never bought lady's underwear before, either. Well, she might have...

"I think the women's underwear is over there." I said, vaguely gesturing back towards the woman's clothing section.

"Would you like to help me pick some out?"

I blinked, surprised. "N-No..."

She smiled. "Sorry. You're easy to embarass."

I turned to the lady and asked if she could help Celestia. At first, she refused, but with some convincing from Celestia, she changed her mind.

Celestia did that on purpose...

After she returned, Celestia was smiling at me, clothes in her arms. She also had a bathrobe, like I had suggested.

She dumped her new delicates into the cart. I took a brief look, but it wasn't too exciting. I've seen it all before. The thought that this lady would be wearing them, though... We were done shopping, as far as I knew. I just trusted her judgement that she got the right size. I started towards the front of the store, Celestia in tow.

"She told me that the bras may not fit me. We may have to come back at a later date."

"Could be."

"This was fun. We should come here often."

"You sure are cheerful for someone trapped in a different world."

"If I'm going to remain here, then I may as well enjoy myself. Is there something wrong with it?"

"Nah, I guess not." That's not what I meant. She probably just didn't want to worry me. "Glad to see you cheerful."

She smiled. "Thank you. For that and for... this." She gestured to the cart.

We got a few looks from the others in the store. Celestia smiled at everyone as we passed. We checked out and headed home.

The two of us got out of the car. "Go ahead and head inside." I said to her, handing her my keys. The house key was singled out so she knew which one it was.

"Are you sure? You don't want me to help?"

I shrugged. "If you want."

She joined me in unloading the car. Her wobbliness had slowly disappeared throughout the day. Now, she was confident enough to help me carry groceries inside. This time, I remembered the bag from last night.

Celestia was in the front room, her bags of clothes sitting on the coffee table. She took out the shirt that she had bought and looked at the front of it. I had just finished putting the food away.

"Where should I store these?"

"Oh. Good question. Uh... I guess I could clear out a drawer in my dresser for you. That'd probably be the easiest way to do it. Here, bring 'em in."

I moved to my room and removed the top drawer of my dresser, then dumped it into one of the lower drawers. After I was done, she began neatly placing her clothes inside.

"This had been surprisingly fun." she said to me as she put the clothes away.

"Fun? That so?"

"I've been enjoying myself in this world. With you." She smiled.

"Oh... Well, that's nice to hear." I had a smile of my own.

"Now that I have new clothing, I'm free to bathe, yes?" she asked.

"Uh... Yeah. Just make sure to lock the door behind you."

"And my old clothing?"

"Just toss 'em downstairs."

"Alright. Thank you, again, for this."

With that, she grabbed her new robe and walked into the bathroom. I could hear the water running.

I sat on the couch. She was so nice...

Now that I was alone with my own thoughts, I think the reality of my situation was starting to set in. I stared blankly at the wall. The nicest, most beautiful woman in the world is using my bathtub. Nothing about that sentence was normal. And as for who it was... No answer would satisfy me.

I sighed. Looking for an answer would just cause me more headaches. Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality.

It felt strange just waiting for her to get out. I didn't have anything else to do. Eventually, she walked back out, wearing her new robe, a towel on her head. Her old clothes were in her arms. She opened the basement door and threw her clothes down. I have never actually seen anybody wear a robe in real life...

"Certainly not something I do often." she said to me, closing the door. She smiled at me before going into my room and closing the door.

She soon came back out, fully clothed, drying off her wet hair with the towel. Compared to before, her pants were tighter around her hips and her shirt was tighter around her chest. Her feet were bare.

"I suppose they're comfortable. A bit small, maybe. I liked my old clothes, better."

"Hey Celestia..." I said to her, "Are you really alright with this?"

"Hmm? You mean the clothes? It's alright. As I've said..."

"No, about... just... About being here. Staying here with me. Are you sure you're alright with this?"

She gave me a caring smile. "It's fine, Phil. You don't have to worry about me. I do appreciate it, but it's unnecessary." She sat next to me on the couch. "So, tell me, is this... all you do?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh. I do stuff. You know, like chores and... games and... stuff... I go to work."

"Seems like a dull lifestyle. Do you spend time with your friends, often?"

"Often enough. I talk to them alot. You know, play games with them."

"That's good to hear."

"So, now that you've gotten a change of clothes and you're freshly bathed, are you ready to head back out into the world?"

"I... want to think over what I've been through so far. Now that we've returned, I would like to rest. It's been an exciting day. We can continue our search tomorrow."

"You sure? It's still kinda early."

She nodded.

"Well, ok."

She smiled at me. What a nice smile...

"Hey, just so you know, tomorrow I gotta get back to work." I said to her.

"Oh... What... do I do?"

"I dunno. You can use my laptop if you get bored. You're probably gonna get bored fast, here."

"Actually, it's more exciting than Equestria usually is."

"Ah, if you say so. I can, uh... I can sleep out here. You can take the room."

"Phil, I'm not..." She paused, then smiled. "Thank you. That's very kind of you."

"If you'll excuse me, I have some things to do."

"Hmm?"

"Chores."

"Oh. How exciting." Wonderful sarcasm.

I shrugged, then stood up and headed to the kitchen. She got up and followed after me, watching what I did. Dishes led to other basic housework. She watched me as I worked, usually standing out of the way. She seemed interested in what I was doing, even if it wasn't that interesting.

Towards the end of the day, I gave her a new toothbrush so she could brush. As she went to bed, she kept her smile on her face as she disappeared into my bedroom. She was happy, so I was happy.

Yeah... I'm crazy.